Comparison of anxiety, depression, and quality of life of husbands of women with and without breast cancer

The aim of this study was to compare the anxiety, depression, and quality of life of husbands of women with breast cancer referred to the chemotherapy clinic with husbands of non-affected wives. This was a case-control study, with purposive-convenience sampling method. 190 husbands of patients with or without breast cancer participate in this study. Data collection tools included a four-part questionnaire, consisted of demographic characteristics, shortened form of quality of life questionnaire, Beck depression inventory, and Beck anxiety inventory. In the areas of social relations and living environment (QolD3, QolD4), a statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in quality of life (p-value < 0.001). Pearson correlation coefficient showed a statistically significant difference in the case group between the history of chemotherapy and mean anxiety score (p-value < 0.001), and quality of life with number of children (p-value < 0.002). The findings of this study showed that in addition to giving attention to the patients, attention to health needs and quality of life of their spouses is also a priority.